Town, SRCT agreement over YMCA assets expected in December

Attorneys for the town of Skaneateles and the Skaneateles Recreation Charitable Trust met behind closed doors for more than an hour with a state supreme court judge Thursday, Nov. 15, in an attempt to reach a settlement in the two-year-long dispute over ownership of Skaneateles YMCA assets.

“It was a very productive meeting,” said Town Attorney Patrick Sardino. “I anticipate we’ll be getting a formal proposal from the SRCT in the near future.”

Sardino said he is hopeful there will be an agreement and a resolution for the town board to vote on by the board’s Dec. 6 regular meeting.

The closed-door meeting with the judge came after a previously scheduled Nov. 14 public court appearance was cancelled in favor of the private meeting at which the judge sought to reconcile the two sides to an agreement, Sardino said.

The town of Skaneateles filed a lawsuit against the SRCT on Oct. 5 declaring that the issue of ownership of an estimated $155,000 in YMCA assets — which has been an ongoing dispute between the two sides since December 2010 — had come to an impasse. The town was requesting a court decision that the SRCT either pay for the taxpayer-funded assets in its possession or hand them over to the town for public auction.

Jason Emerson is editor of the Skaneateles Press. He can be reached at editor@skaneatelespress.com.